in sepia

again, last night, I fell asleep

in sweet words

and sepia visions.

you put aside my ancient book

– the great drama of existence –

and kissed my forehead 

and I dreamed:

we were meandering,

free spirits,

through lovely streets

on one of our good walks,

past . . .

delicious book shops

and flower stands

and fragrant café wafts

of coffee and fresh baked bread aromas.

my heart was light as air,

for it felt as though,

we were

. . . pleasantly . . .

tousled on life’s windy breezes

while scraps of blurry print

and stereoscopic images

fluttered gently about us,

in warm ecru linen ashes:

little enigmas, I didn’t question . . .

and in the peace, I said:  I think, I must be dreaming,

and you –  kissed my forehead 

and whispered . . . rest. 

note:  Sepia ink was used for writing and drawing until the 19^th century.  As with all ink – it fades with exposure to sunlight.  Sepia tones are used in photography – the hue resembling the effect of aging in old photographs.

photos:  antique stereoscope with sepia stereoscope cards (stereoscopes are devices – popular from the 1850s to the 1930s in which stereoscopy, or 3D imaging,  created or enhanced an illusion of depth).

photos of Paris taken by my father during World War II atop my university 17^th century literature anthology – W. Bourke 

 © 2014 Wendy Bourke